Editor reviews

At the Indy 500, exchanges between drivers off the track can be as explosive as those on the track, and Tony Carnaghi's lively and animated reading of Jack Arute and Jenna Fryer's book transports the listener to the front row of the action.

A single wrong turn, improper pass, or blown tire can spell defeat in the race, but they can also easily result in peril. Arute and Fryer expertly capture the drama and volatility of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" with this collection of riveting stories, and Carnaghi elevates their prose with a performance that makes it difficult to stop listening after hitting play.

Summary

The best stories from the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway - newly updated.

What’s it like to race across the blacktop of the nation’s most famous track? How does it feel to smash into a concrete wall while going over 200 miles per hour? This exciting, humorous, and poignant collection of tales takes listeners inside the most exciting race in America. Tales from the Indianapolis 500 captures horrific collisions and sweet victories from drivers past and present.

Fun listen, but mispronunciations of well-known names a distraction

Some very interesting, insider stories. A little short on depth, but good for quick listens with a personal touch. Major issue, though, with constant mispronunciations of well-known people's names. Did the publisher even have one knowledge person listen to this before releasing? Amateurish and took away from the book's credibility.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Anonymous User

01-06-17

Name Pronunciation.

I found it difficult to listen to the Pronunciation of some very Famous People in racing. Seems' to me, With a name like Carnaghi, You would know how to pronounce The Most Famous Names in Indy History. Great Stories Jack. Disappointing teller.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

greg

24-05-16

A must read for race fans

Very unique perspective and great stories. P the narrator mispronounced a lot of driver names, but they are hard to pronounce. Over all amazing.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Rob L Blauvelt

18-04-16

Please Pronounce Names Correctly

Jack Arute is as much a part of Indy as any of the drivers. These stories are amazing chunks of Indy history. The book is awesome. The guy reading needs to learn how to pronounce the names of the heros in this work; to mispronounce these names is very disrespectful and I'm sure Jack would not appreciate it.

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

TG

04-10-15

Good stories let down by the peformance

What disappointed you about Tales from the Indianapolis 500?

The stories were really short, which I know might have been the point, but the stories were so short, that it literally skims the surface. I had a hard time following the chronology of events - given the stories were so short, there is quite a bit of back and forth.

What did you like best about this story?

The inside stories from the author.

How could the performance have been better?

Firstly, the pronunciation of the names was horrific and unacceptable. Secondly, there was no pause in between the stories - this made it really confusing.

What character would you cut from Tales from the Indianapolis 500?

None.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Alex

23-09-15

Good content; poor performance by reader

What made the experience of listening to Tales from the Indianapolis 500 the most enjoyable?

Great stories from an Indy reporting legend. Jack give you an insider's perspective of the world's greatest race and track. The stories are short and almost all of them are entertaining.

What didn’t you like about Tony Carnaghi’s performance?

The reader clearly is not an Indycar fan and knows very little as he repeatedly butchered the drivers names throughout the book.

Any additional comments?

A good and quick listen if you are an Indycar or racing fan.

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Edmund Morgan

22-09-15

Horrible Narrator

Great first person account of Jack Arute's many years at Indy. The audio book was ruined by the narrator's lack of familiarity with the subject matter. So many names were mispronounced. Poor, poor editing.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Patten

17-05-15

Painful Performance

Would you listen to Tales from the Indianapolis 500 again? Why?

I could not possibly listen to this book again. The number of glaring errors in the pronunciation of so many things is simply distracting. The narrator pronounces Franchitti as "Fran-cheat-ee" instead of "Fran-kee-tee", which is understandable. Most of the rest of his pronunciations, even a cursory knowledge of IndyCar or review by the author and publisher would have avoided. "USAC" and "IMSA" are spelled out as "U-S-A-C" and "I-M-S-A" instead of being pronounced as one word. He even spells out "Izod" (as in the well-known clothing line) as "I-z-o-d". He calls Chris Economaki "Chris Ecnomaki". The two absolute worst - which make the book virtually unlistenable because of their prominence in many stories - are his pronunciations of "Rahal" and "Ganassi". At first I thought there was a portion of Indy 500 history I did not know about because I had never heard of the driver Bobby Rall (or Rawl). In addition, he gave Ganassi a J-sound, pronouncing it "Janassi", which is just a ridiculous, illogical leap for a pronunciation.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Blake

08-03-15

Very good!

I thought the stories were very good but the performance was terrible. The narrator mispronounced so many things I could not believe it. He pronounced Dan Wheldon's name "wheel-don." He also kept saying U-S-A-C instead of U-SAC. I guess the producers of the audio book do not know anything about Indy car racing.